TEXAS, USA — East Texas sheriffs are warning the public about an increase of dangerous drugs in the area.
Large amounts of fentanyl are surfacing in some counties, while other counties continue to battle the long-term methamphetamine problem.
The color blue is showing up in several street drugs, and Rusk County Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez said this usually means it's laced with fentanyl.
"Different drugs will put off different colors," Valdez said. "You can actually make it whatever color you want. So depending on if there's fentanyl in it, or a good dose of fentanyl, a lot of times that blue will come out."
Valdez posted this notice on the sheriff office’s Facebook page to warn parents what to look for and how fatal fentanyl can be.
"When you look at just small quantities, fentanyl can take your life," Valdez said. "So when you look at eight pounds of fentanyl, it could literally wipe out the city of Henderson and probably a little bit more."
According to Valdez, it’s not just pills like ecstasy being laced, but also methamphetamine and cocaine.
Rusk County isn’t the only one seeing this issue either. According to Gregg County Chief Deputy Craig Harrington, they’ve also seen a rise in fentanyl.
“Counterfeit pills such as “Xanax” which are normally not blue are being found blue in color,” Harrington said in a statement.
Meanwhile in Upshur County Sheriff Larry Webb said his office hasn’t picked up any signs of fentanyl in their area. Webb and his deputies continue to fight against the ongoing battle with meth.
"I'm not saying that it's not here," Webb said. "Maybe it's not being recognized as being (fentanyl), it could have been taken into custody and processed as a different type of drug."
Webb said thanks to the hard work of his special investigations unit they were able to confiscate about 80 grams of meth in their last bust.
"This is a combined effort and should be a combined effort because we're not winning this war on drugs," Valdez said. "Until we as a society decide enough is enough, we'll continue to fight this war on drugs 'for decades, more to come.'"
Valdez also wants to warn parents that some tablets are starting to look like they come from a pharmacy and an over-the-counter medicine.